BAGHDAD -- A joint U.S.-Iraqi audit will be carried out to look at allocations for Iraq’s reconstruction managed by the U.S. military, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports.

After meeting with the head of Iraq's Supreme Audit Board, Abd al-Basit Turki, in Baghdad on May 26, Special Inspector-General for Iraqi Reconstruction Stuart Bowen told journalists the joint review "is a new initiative, an important initiative."

Bowen recalled that a U.S. investigation conducted in early 2005 resulted in the indictment of five out of 18 people implicated in the misappropriation of Iraqi development funds.